Evaluating the radiation detection of the RbGd2Br7:Ce scintillator by Monte Carlo methods

The purpose of this study was to investigate the radiation detection efficiency of the recently introduced RbGd2Br7:Ce (RGB) scintillator material by a custom developed Monte Carlo simulation code. Considering its fast principal decay constant (45 ns) and its high light yield (56 000 photons/MeV), RbGd2Br7:Ce appears to be a quite promising scintillator for applications in nuclear medical imaging systems. In this work, gamma-ray interactions, within the scintillator mass were studied. In addition, the effect of K-characteristic fluorescence radiation emission, re-absorption or escape, as well as the effect of scattering events on the spatial distribution of absorbed energy was examined. Various scintillator crystal thicknesses (5-25 mm), used in positron emission imaging, were considered to be irradiated by 511 keV photons. Similar simulations were performed on the well known Lu2SiO5:Ce (LSO) scintillator for comparison purposes. Simulation results allowed the determination of the quantum detection efficiency as well as the fraction of the energy absorbed due to the K-characteristic radiation. Results were obtained as a function of scintillator crystal thickness. The Lu2SiO5:Ce scintillator material showed to exhibit better radiation absorption properties in comparison with RbGd2Br7:Ce. However, RGB showed to be less affected by the production of K-characteristic radiation. Taking into account its very short decay time and its high light yield, this material could be considered to be employed in positron imaging (PET) detectors.